College Sports

No. 1 Clemson opens home season against The Citadel

Posted September 17, 2020 7:00 am

By The Associated Press

The Citadel (0-1) at No. 1 Clemson (1-0), Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (ACC Network).

Line: Clemson by 44 1/2.

Series record: Clemson leads 32-5-1.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

Clemson is looking to stay perfect early in the remade, coronavirus impacted season. The Tigers will also look to stay healthy in their lone non-conference game as they will have a week off on Sept. 26 before resuming Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Citadel is seeking the biggest upset in its long football history. It will be the third time in six years the Bulldogs will have faced the No. 1 team after Florida State in 2014 and Alabama in 2018.

KEY MATCHUP

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence against The Citadel's secondary. Lawrence completed 22 of 28 passes for 351 yards in the season opening victory at Wake Forest and the Bulldogs must slow down that air attack if they hope to keep things close. Linebacker Willie Eubanks III had 12 tackles for The Citadel in a 27-6 loss last week to South Florida. He'll likely need even more to contain Clemson's fast, long receivers.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The Citadel: K Colby Kintner is a freshman who hit two field goals of 41 and 45 yards in the South Florida loss. It's the first time since 2015 a Bulldogs kicker had two 40-plus yard field goals in a game.

Clemson: RB Travis Etienne got off to a strong start as he looks for his third straight ACC player of the year award. Etienne, a senior who passed up the NFL for a final college season, finished with 102 yards and a touchdown.

FACTS & FIGURES

Clemson has won 17 straight against The Citadel and is 34-0 since the NCAA formed the FCS in 1982. ... Clemson was approved by the state to bring in about 19,000 fans into Memorial Stadium, less than a quarter of its 81,500-seat capacity. ... The Citadel, of the Southern Conference, is playing a four-game fall season. It will face Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 26 and go to Army on Oct. 10. The school plans to play during the league's spring season. ... Clemson's five-star defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy combined for 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks in their college debuts. ... The Citadel is receiving $450,000 for playing the Tigers.

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More AP college football: http://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney talks with players after a defensive stop against Wake Forest during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Walt Unks/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP) The Associated Press

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